WoW fans caught off guard by how soon the next update arrives celebrate the exorcism of one of the MMO's biggest recent demons
Blizzard Entertainment has revealed that World of Warcraft: Dragonflight's Embers of Neltharion patch goes live next month, sparking a community reaction of 'holy crap, that fast?'
Patch 10.1, if we're getting technical with it, introduces a new zone called Zaralek Caverns, which will be another area to explore with fresh faces to meet. You're also getting more open-world content in the form of Fyrrak Assaults that sees dragon-like foes attempt to gather resources at Suffusion Camps in the Azure Span and Ohn'ahran Plains – they'll succeed, too, if you let them.
In a more historic move for the MMO, Blizzard is introducing cross-faction guilds, allowing you to join a group with anyone regardless of their faction allegiance. All it leads to is conveniences like shared chat and guild repairs, but there's something more sentimental in play given that the Horde vs Alliance rivalry has been core to WoW since launch.
Embers of Neltharion's release date has caught plenty in the community off guard, but in a good way. The positive response is equally influenced by frustrations over Shadowlands and delight with Dragonkeep, but everyone is more or less saying the same thing.
"Even earlier than I expected," one says (opens in new tab). "Can't believe people thought they were going to sit on it until July!"
Another adds (opens in new tab): "Way sooner than I thought. [Blizzard] is really on top of its game with this expansion".
To unpack the sentiment a tad, Shadowlands prompted criticism over its update cadence (opens in new tab) and time-gating mechanics, leading to a slog through content that rumbled on over longer periods than fans were used to. The influence of the COVID-19 lockdown on game development is worth bearing in
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